Frazan Adil Kotwal, from Pune, is a Dastur who has received global accolades for his talent as an Opera singer (baritone), at the young age of twenty-three! His extraordinary talent has been praised by top international opera critics as being in “possession of a fine voice, artistic sensitivity, ability to communicate in his music-making and personal charm”. A BMM graduate from Jaihind College, Frazan is mostly self-taught, with a few master-classes, and has performed all over Europe and participated in Music Festivals. He also plays the violin and the viola and organizes music groups for youngsters to learn and understand this form of music.

He recently auditioned at Vienna’s top university, the Musik und Darstellunde Kunst (Maestro Zubin Mehta’s former school) as an ausordentlicher (extraordinary) student, and has been accepted to study music, solo voice and Opera, from amongst hundreds of international applicants. A dream come true for any musician worth his salt to get the opportunity to study amongst the world’s best musicians, Parsi Times congratulates and catches up with the dynamic, self-funded and self-taught music prodigy – Frazan for this extraordinary achievement.

Currently learning the German language as part of his preparation, Frazan says, “ My parents, friends and community have been an integral part of my journey and continue to inspire me everyday. The Vienna audition experience was one of the most stressful yet rewarding periods of my life, where I was competing with over 100 international, exemplary, musicians with years of formal training in music. I fondly remember before each audition, I would do my Kusti, Sarosh Baj and Chaar-disha Nu Namaskar prayers, quietly in the practice rooms.”

“Think big, work hard, stay grounded and always pray – that helped me tremendously”, adds Frazan, who, inspite of a packed schedule dedicated to music, makes it a point to pray in the Agiary for the Muktad, every year. “Always believe in and follow your dreams, no matter what. Nothing is impossible. I strongly advocate spreading music to our younger generation and hope they consider taking it up seriously. I’m a proud Parsi and feel blessed to belong to this beautiful and well-respected community. One day I will be the first great Zoroastrian singer of the classical world,” he beams with promise.